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Thunderbird Club

#64,584
Larry V said:
There's no evidence that this is true, IMO. My 2013 Gibson's VS finish is gorgeous and flawless. The Epi's look good as well for far less cost but I'd never claim their finish is better.

Also, my Gibson new was $1,200 shipped in an OHSC.

So, $1,200 for the Gibson with a case shipped and you get an incredibly durable nitrocellulose finish on an American-made quality bass..

...or $599 for the Epi plus $125 for a case and you get a poly finish on a quality import.

Not dissing the Epi VP, I'll probably end up with one someday, but my Gibsons really make me happy.
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Spot on!
I find the Gibbys deliver the goods at their price point and the Eppis deliver the goods above their price point. Both brands deliver the goods, one may be a better bang for the buck depending on what you're looking for, but both are solid Pro level basses that can hang in any competition with any brand out there. The real gems are frequently in the used Gibby market where you can get some serious bang for the buck deals, used Eppis are a great deal too but not usually as heavily discounted as the Gibbys.
 
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#64,585
dukeorock said:
Decided to do some direct clips for the heck of it. I played along to a prerecorded Prayer Flags track, but favored the bass pretty heavily. All Three basses went through the Reiner 6SL7 tube pre, straight into Logic. No EQ, No Compression...I explain which is which on the sound File
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Nice demo! They each have their own sound if you listen carefully - But overall they blend nicely in the mix, and sound pretty similar to each other - If they had the exact same new strings on them, the differences might even be harder to hear. Not surprisingly the DR BB's have a darker sound to them than the other two.
 
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#64,586
GBassNorth said:
Spot on!
I find the Gibbys deliver the goods at their price point and the Eppis deliver the goods above their price point. Both brands deliver the goods, one may be a better bang for the buck depending on what you're looking for, but both are solid Pro level basses that can hang in any competition with any brand out there. The real gems are frequently in the used Gibby market where you can get some serious bang for the buck deals, used Eppis are a great deal too but not usually as heavily discounted as the Gibbys.
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I have noticed that the price of a used Gibson is going up a bit. Or at least asked prices. They are making like Rickenbackers in a way. The price of a used one is lower than a new one still, unlike a Ric, but they hit a floor and then stay there. I'm talking about the post 1989 or so Thunderbirds, not '60s or '70s Thunderbirds. Those have astronomical prices by comparison.

When you think that an Epi starts out less expensive, the depreciation is probably similar as a percentage. I haven't calculated either one, and any calculation would be suspect because there's always the win with a losing offer dukeofrock routine that Mark seems to be so good at.
 
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#64,588
Gaolee said:
When you think that an Epi starts out less expensive, the depreciation is probably similar as a percentage. I haven't calculated either one, and any calculation would be suspect because there's always the win with a losing offer dukeofrock routine that Mark seems to be so good at.
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I think the calculation formula is N+1.
 
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#64,589
Gaolee said:
I have noticed that the price of a used Gibson is going up a bit. Or at least asked prices. They are making like Rickenbackers in a way. The price of a used one is lower than a new one still, unlike a Ric, but they hit a floor and then stay there. I'm talking about the post 1989 or so Thunderbirds, not '60s or '70s Thunderbirds. Those have astronomical prices by comparison.

When you think that an Epi starts out less expensive, the depreciation is probably similar as a percentage. I haven't calculated either one, and any calculation would be suspect because there's always the win with a losing offer dukeofrock routine that Mark seems to be so good at.
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The new ones went up from 1999 to 2199, just like that.
 
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#64,591
Gaolee said:
New Gibsons? I have seen new Rics in the $1500 range, but that was a year or two ago. I'm not in the market for any new bass guitars, let alone a new Ric, so that could be out of date information.
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I hear yeah. But the Sweetwater prices started at 1999, jumped to 2199. New. But yeah, I've noticed used Birds have gone up.
 
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#64,594
hillerup said:
Nice demo! They each have their own sound if you listen carefully - But overall they blend nicely in the mix, and sound pretty similar to each other - If they had the exact same new strings on them, the differences might even be harder to hear. Not surprisingly the DR BB's have a darker sound to them than the other two.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Yeah, the DR BB’s coupled with the stock Hibson pickups is going to be darker for sure.

Gaolee said:
I have noticed that the price of a used Gibson is going up a bit. Or at least asked prices. They are making like Rickenbackers in a way. The price of a used one is lower than a new one still, unlike a Ric, but they hit a floor and then stay there. I'm talking about the post 1989 or so Thunderbirds, not '60s or '70s Thunderbirds. Those have astronomical prices by comparison.

When you think that an Epi starts out less expensive, the depreciation is probably similar as a percentage. I haven't calculated either one, and any calculation would be suspect because there's always the win with a losing offer dukeofrock routine that Mark seems to be so good at.
Click to expand...

I think that’s all a tad overstated, guys! Got lucky on a couple basses and maybe an amp! When I contacted Carlo and asked where the ‘Make Offer’ option was on the Cataldo site...well, I can’t repeat his response on this family friendly site
 
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#64,595
BklynKen said:
This looks fun. Can’t figure out what’s going on down the sides of the back of the headstock, though.

Gibson EB-3 1974 Left Handed
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So totally trying to hide stuff by only putting up 3 pics. Why isn’t there a pic of the entire headstock including the neck past a few frets? And that should be for the front and back as well.
 
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#64,596
BklynKen said:
Cool, haven't seen that. I'll check it out!
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If you do - Make sure you also get to see the mini-series that came out after the series ended...

The cast and crew were very unhappy when Scy-Fy Channel cancelled the series, as it ended with cliffhanger.

Eventually they got to make the mini-series, so they could round off the series in a good way... :)
 
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#64,599
Gaolee said:
Sounds good to me - was it the 'Bird? It's pretty well processed and layered, so I can't tell what you were playing one way or another.
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Me either! I originally cut that on the Gretsch with flats. Went for a 60’s thing, which I really liked. At some point during mix, Zach had me come back in with my ‘76 P bass and plug into his fuzz pedal. I didn’t own a ‘Bird yet when we cut that record. There are some tracks where the bass is very defined, but that ain’t one of em :)
 
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